The Fox and the Horse

By the Grimm Brothers

A farmer had a horse that had been an excellent faithful servant to him: but he was now grown too old to work; so the farmer would give him nothing more to eat, and said, ’I want you no longer, so take yourself off out of my stable; I shall not take you back again until you are stronger than a lion.’ Then he opened the door and turned him adrift.

The poor horse was very melancholy, and wandered up and down in the wood, seeking some little shelter from the cold wind and rain. Presently a fox met him: ’What’s the matter, my friend?’ said he, ’why do you hang down your head and look so lonely and woe-begone?’ ’Ah!’ replied the horse, ’justice and avarice never dwell in one house; my master has forgotten all that I have done for him so many years, and because I can no longer work he has turned me adrift, and says unless I become stronger than a lion he will not take me back again; what chance can I have of that? he knows I have none, or he would not talk so.’

However, the fox bid him be of good cheer, and said, ’I will help you; lie down there, stretch yourself out quite stiff, and pretend to be dead.’ The horse did as he was told, and the fox went straight to the lion who lived in a cave close by, and said to him, ’A little way off lies a dead horse; come with me and you may make an excellent meal of his carcase.’ The lion was greatly pleased, and set off immediately; and when they came to the horse, the fox said, ’You will not be able to eat him comfortably here; I’ll tell you what–I will tie you fast to his tail, and then you can draw him to your den, and eat him at your leisure.’

This advice pleased the lion, so he laid himself down quietly for the fox to make him fast to the horse. But the fox managed to tie his legs together and bound all so hard and fast that with all his strength he could not set himself free. When the work was done, the fox clapped the horse on the shoulder, and said, ’Jip! Dobbin! Jip!’ Then up he sprang, and moved off, dragging the lion behind him. The beast began to roar and bellow, till all the birds of the wood flew away for fright; but the horse let him sing on, and made his way quietly over the fields to his master’s house.

’Here he is, master,’ said he, ’I have got the better of him’: and when the farmer saw his old servant, his heart relented, and he said. ’Thou shalt stay in thy stable and be well taken care of.’ And so the poor old horse had plenty to eat, and lived–till he died.

A costly Diamond, that had once sparkled in a lady’s ring, lay in a field amid tall grasses and oxeye daisies. Just above it, was a big Dewdrop that clung timidly to a nodding grass-blade. Overhead, the blazing sun shone in all his noonday glory. Ever since the first pink blush of dawn, the modest […]

When you stand round the Christmas tree and look longingly at the toys hanging from the prickly branches, it does not occur to you to ask why it is always this particular tree that is so honoured at Christmas. The dark green Fir looks so majestic when laden with bright toys and lit up by […]

One lovely summer morning, just as the sun rose, two travellers started on a journey. They were both strong young men, but one was a lazy fellow and the other was a worker. As the first sunbeams came over the hills, they shone on a great castle standing on the heights, as far away as […]

Once upon a time, a Tortoise lived in a pond with two Ducks, who were her very good friends. She enjoyed the company of the Ducks, because she could talk with them to her heart’s content; the Tortoise liked to talk. She always had something to say, and she liked to hear herself say it. […]

The story I am going to tell you is about something that really happened, many years ago. A brave little company of pioneers from the Atlantic coast crossed the Mississippi River and journeyed across the plains of Central North America in big covered wagons with many horses, and finally succeeded in climbing to the top […]

All these stories about the little Jackal that I have told you, show how clever the little Jackal was. But you know—if you don’t, you will when you are grown up—that no matter how clever you are, sooner or later you surely meet some one who is more clever. It is always so in life. […]

Once upon a time there was a dear little girl, whose name was Elsa. Elsa’s father and mother worked very hard and became rich. But they loved Elsa so much that they did not like her to do any work; very foolishly, they let her play all the time. So when Elsa grew up, she […]